Update: I've been really touched to receive many generous donations in such a short time and I am currently adding them up to give a total later today. thanks everyone! if you want to help, you can still donate and secure our costs further into the future, but we're more than safe for now. This place is amazing. __________

Dear beloved GRcade denizens,

GRcade is kindly supported by the considerable voluntary time, money and expertise needed to facilitate this community for almost 9 years running. Many people have shared the jobs of running GRcade over the years. Myself I have been directly involved in the current guise GRcade in different ways for at least 7 years. Between us, thousands of manhours have been dedicated to creating an online hub to be proud of and share our passions, even when times are good and bad.

Without the content contributions made freely every hour of every day by our members, GRcade could not exist and would be of no interest to anyone. We enjoy one of the most capable and cutting edge server deployments available for a medium-sized, constantly active online community of video game, tech and entertainment fans, supported by the voluntary contributions of learned and dedicated computer scientists, engineers, web designers, community moderators, content authors and social media managers, those on "staff' and off, currently "on staff" and now resigned to their good selves having served the community above and beyond, in some cases, most reasonable expectations.

While we are supported by a small ad unit for guests only in recent years, this infrequent and irregular revenue only constitutes a small portion of the persistent and substantial running costs required to maintain the high standards you expect from what so many of us call our "home on the Internet', where we gather to convene on all sorts of matters, with some fantastic people we even consider friends. This is because we do not wish to subject anyone to the most intrusive forms of advertising.

For this to continue in the great spirit it has for so long, I ask that you please make a kind financial contribution, however big or small, to help us subsist in our own little corner of the (very fast) Internet. Just £1 from each active member on GRcade would fund our operations for years.

After evaluating the GRcade organisation's accounts, currently a trading name of myself, I have personally covered a running deficit of £181 over the past 12 months, despite facing great financial adversity as a self-employed design professional. This includes this month's bill (January), to our dedicated server provider, OVH t/a SoYouStart, based in France, where we enjoy a stunning low latency operation compared to more economical but slow/substandard hosting elsewhere. If we are able to raise more than the needed target of £181, no individual will be liable for these expensive costs and let it be known that GRcade continues to exist with the contributions, by simply posting every day and/or by making donations, of its passionate members. Both are appreciated equally. Donations are entirely anonymous and are never used as a basis for preferential treatment in GRcade policies.

For full transparency, please see this spreadsheet for the ledger for the past 24 months.

Did you know?Your data is held securely in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act, in Europe, protected by British and European privacy and data protection laws. There has been no evidence of any compromise of the GRcade database in the forum's history, although we have had medium level social engineering hacks and DDoS attacks that were resolved by our dedicated staff.

or PM me for bank details, and I will gratefully receive your contributions and attribute them towards clearing the deficit and the future payment(s).

We typically go comfortably with a good volume of small donations from a wide range of members, and a few very generous ones - every penny makes a difference. For example, in the past 2 years, there have only been 2 donation drives, although admittedly, there should have been 1 or 2 more, as I simply can't afford to sustain losses for obvious reasons.

Many thanks in advance for your help, and thank you to you - the GRcade community - for making this place somewhere to love and care for and remain part of for so many, including myself, for 15 years or more.